uptake
[ uhp-teyk ]
/ ˈʌpˌteɪk /
noun
apprehension; understanding or comprehension; mental grasp: quick on the uptake.
an act or instance of taking up; a lifting: the uptake of fertilizer by machines.
Also called take-up. Machinery. a pipe or passage leading upward from below, as for conducting smoke or a current of air.
Physiology. absorption.
RELATED WORDS
cheek, comeback, guff, insolence, insult, lip, mouth, rejoinder, retort, return, riposte, sass, sauce, backchat
Nearby words
Origin of uptake
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for uptake
uptake
/ (ˈʌpˌteɪk) /
noun
a pipe, shaft, etc, that is used to convey smoke or gases, esp one that connects a furnace to a chimney
mining another term for upcast (def. 2)
taking up or lifting up
the act of accepting or taking up something on offer or available
quick on the uptake informal quick to understand or learn
slow on the uptake informal slow to understand or learn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
uptake
"capacity for understanding," 1816, from up + take. Cf. obsolete verb uptake "to pick or take up," attested from c.1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
uptake
[ ŭp′tāk′ ]
n.
The absorption by a tissue of a substance, such as a nutrient, and its permanent or temporary retention.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
uptake
see on the uptake.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.